Electric elevator.



No. 657,782. Patented SBDVIL |900. J. W. MABBS.

ELECTRIC ELEVATOR.

(Application led July 26, 1897.)

2 Sheets-Sheet (No Model.)

Mww l@ MQ L /omjfw (No Model.)

PatentedfSept. Il, |900. J. W. MABBS.

ELECTRIC ELEVATOB.

(Application lecl July 28, 1897.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WENN Jiffy/Y Utter) STATES IATENT OFFICE.

JOHN IYILLIAMS MABBS,.OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS;

ELECTRIC ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 657,782, dated September 11, 1900. Application led- July 26, 1897. Serial No. 646,032. (No modelo To @ZZ whom t may concern-.-

Beit known that. I, JOHN WILLIAMS MABBS, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Elevators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. Y

This invention relates to electric elevators.

One object of the invention is to provide a construction of electrically-operated elevator which is simple, economical, and efficient and wherein the motor and its supporting-frame and associated parts form a counterbalance for the car.

Other objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

The invention consists, substantially, in the construction, combination, location, and arrangement of parts, all as will be more fully7 hereinafter set. forth, as shown in the accompanying drawings, and nally pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings and to the various views and reference-signs appearing thereon, Figure l is a View in side elevation, parts being broken, of an apparatus constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention. `Fig. 2 is an end View of the counterweight-framewhich supports the motor, showing the relation of the gearing, the said frame being removed from its guides. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3 3, Fig. l, of the counterweightframe and its guides, showing in top plan the arrangement of gearing. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the counterweight-frame and motor, showing the application ofa brake device. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the brake mechanism on the line 5 5, Fig. 4. Iiig. 6 is a detail view, in side elevation, of the brake mechanism.

The saine part is designated by the saine reference-sign wherever it occurs throughout the several views. i

In the drawings reference-sign B designates the car; H, the hoisting-cable connected thereto; I, the guide sheave over which the hoisting-cable operates, and A the guides forming the elevator shaft or well and in which the car operates. These parts may Abe of the usual or any Well-known or convenient construction and arrangement, and the specific details of construction thereof form no part of the present invention and need not be described in detail herein. VThe hoistingcable is connected at one end to the car and after passing overthe guide-sheaveIis formed into a biglit in the usual manner, and the.`

other end thereof is anchored or fastened, as at J, to a fixed beam or in any other suitable or convenient manner.

In suitable relation to the elevator shaft or well are arranged the independent vertical guides C C. These guides may be in the form of standards, beams, posts, columns, or the like. In the particular form shown, to which, however, the invention is not limited or restricted, I employ I-beams placed with their webs parallel to each other, and said independent guides are spaced a suitable distance apart to form a guideway therebetween. Mounted to operate in the guideway thus formed is a frame D, which I will designate the counterweight-frame. This frame is provided on the opposite sides thereof and at suitable distances apart with lugs or projections e3 e3, arranged to engage suitable anges C C', formed on or suitably secured to the inner or juxtaposited faces or sides of the guides C C, thereby guiding the counter- Weight frame in the vertical movements thereof in its guideway. In the upper end of tne counterweight-frame is journaled a sheave G, adapted to be received in the bight formed in the hoisting-cable, as above described, whereby the counterWeight-fralne is supported by and suspended from said bight of the hoisting-cable, as clearly shown in the drawings. Racks (indicated at c c, Fig. l) are formed on or secured to the opposite sides or edges of each guide C, the racks on each guide presenting outwardly or away from each other, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. Thus I employ two guides C C, spaced a suitable distance apart, between which operates the counterbalance-frame D, and each vguide is provided on the respective edges or sides thereof with outWardly-presentin g racks. In suitable diverging arms or bearings D/ D', 4form ed on the counterweight-framc, are jour- IOO naled shafts d d, said shafts being arranged to entend transversely of the counterweightframe in substantially-parallel relation. At each end of each transverse shaft cl d is mounted a pinion D3. The shafts d d are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the counterbalance'frame and are spaced a suflicient distance apart for the pinions D3 on corresponding'ends thereof to engage and intermesh with the racks c on the opposite sides or ends, respectively, of the guides C C-that is to say, the pinions D2 on the ends of one shaft d will engage the racks c facing or presenting in one direction from the guides C C, respectively, While the gears D3 on the ends of the other shaft will engage the corresponding racks c facing or presenting in the opposite direction from the other sides or edges of said guides, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. Longitudinally arranged with respect to the counterweight-frame and journaled in suitable bearings e e e2, formed in said frame, is a shaft F', upon whichis formed or otherwise mounted or secured a worm F2. Upon each of the transverse shafts cl and at a point intel-mediate the pinions D3 thereon is a Wormgear D2, arranged to intermesh with and to be driven from worm F2, the arrangement being such that the shaft F passes between shafts d d,and the Worm-gears D2 D2 engage the driving-worm F2 at diametrically-opposite points. The armature F of an electric motor` (designated generally by referencesign E) is mounted on shaft F, the commutator of such armature being indicated atf. The iield of the motor comprises a frame or yoke E', which is mounted upon or may form part of the counterWeight-frame and upon which are mounted the field-magnets E2.

Current may be supplied to the motor in any convenient or Well-known.manner, the means herein shown consisting of a iexible conductor N. The motor may be controlled from the car in the usual or any well-known or convenient manner familiar to persons skilled in the art.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that the counterweight-frame, carrying the motor, the operating-gears, and the sheave G, is suspended in the bight of the hoisting-cable and has a vertical travel between the independent guides C C, such travel being imparted to such frame through the arrangement of racks and pinions and their driving-gears from the motor carried by said frame, and that such travel effects the raising or lowering of the car, in the arrangement shown the car rising as the coun terweight-frame descends and the car descending when the counterweight-frame ascends, and therefore the counterweightframe, together with the driving mechanism and motor carried thereby, constitutes a cou nterweight for the car, and in practice I so regulate the weight of the counterbalanceframe and the parts supported or carried thereby as to balance the Weight of the car without a load or the weight of the car with an average load, so that the work to be done by the motor will be expended in merely overcoming friction when the weight of the car and its load is approximately the same as that of the counterbalance-frame and the parts supported by it. Of course any desired re lation may be established between the weight of the car and its load, on the one hand, and that of the counterWeight-frame and the parts supported thereby, ou the other hand, and this relation may be varied to secure the de sired results.

Where a bight is formed in the cable, in the construction shown, the counterweight will have a travel equal to one-half of that of the car. Of course it is to be understood that any other relation of travel of the car and the counterweighteframe may be adapted by suitably varying the size and number of the sheaves in a manner well known to persons skilled in this art.

In connection with the construction and arrangement of hoisting-motor as above described I employ a brake through which the motor may be controlled. In order to render the brake automatic in its action, I arrange the same in the motor-circuit to be operated by the same current. A simple, convenient, and efficient brake is disclosed in the drawings, and comprises a brake-wheel I', about. which is arranged a brake strap I2. The ends of this strap are respectively connected to the arms of a bell-crank lever I3 in such manner that When said lever is rocked in one direction the brake-band is tightened upon the periphery of brakewheel l and when said lever is rocked in the opposite direction the brake-band is released. The bell-crank lever I3 may be rocked in any suitable manner automatically to set or release the brakeband from the brake-wheel. l have shown a simple and efficient means for accomplishing this result, wherein the lever l3 is suit-ably connected through a link K with the core K of a solenoid J, said solenoid being included lin the motor-circuit, and the arrangement is such that when current is supplied to the motor the solenoid is energized, thereby causing the core K to move in a direction to release the brake-band, and when current is cut off from the motor the core of the solenoid moves in the opposite direction to cause the brake-band to grip the brakewheel. The movement of the solenoid-core, due to the energization of the solenoid, may be opposed in any suitable or convenient manner, whereby When the IioW of current through the solenoid is interrupted said core is returned to its normal position. A simple and efficient arrangement for securing this result is shown, wherein a spring M is interposed between the core K and a plate L, carried by rods Z Z, the latter being connected to a frame L', which is carried by a bracket E3, forming a part of a depending arm E2 I-I, the oounterweightframe forming a support for the solenoid.

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The movements of the solenoid may be guided by means of a rod K2, working through an opening in said plate L. Thus the tension of the spring M is applied in opposition to the movement of the core K when the solenoid is energized and operates to return said core. lf desired, the motorshaft may be provided with shoulders to bear against the bearings e e/ e2 to form thrust-bearings to prevent endwise displacement of said shaft, thereby preventing derangement of the relative positions of worm F2 and worm-gears D2, Which intermesh therewith. I t is evident, however, that any usual, convenient, orwellknown form of bearing may be employed.

By the arrangement above described,where in the Worm-gears D2 intermesh at diametrically-opposite points with the worm F2, I secure an exceedingly efficient and steady operation of the hoisting-motor, and by reason of the arrangement. of the transverse shafts d with the pinions D3 at each end thereof intermeshing with the oppositely faced or presented racks and the arrangement of the driving-shaft F' between said shafts, and with the worm-gears D2 intermediate the ends of said shafts and intermeshing with the Worm F2 on opposite sides, lateral vibration and consequent binding of the counterweightframe in its guides are prevented and a smooth easy-running movement of said frame is secured. This I consider a most important feature of my invention, resulting from the construction and arrangement as above set forth.

A construction such as above set forth is exceedingly economical and efficient in operation. By suitably proportioning the weight of the counterweight-frame and the parts supported thereby to that of the car and its load only a comparatively small amount of work is required to be done in effecting the hoisting or lowering of the car, and this Work is applied through the most powerful form of mechanism, and by the arrangement of two transverse shafts one on one side and the other on the other side of the guideway in which the counterweight-frame travels lost motion or slipping of the gearingis prevented.

It is obvious that the guideway in which the counterweight-frame works may be arranged in any suitable relation with respect to the elevator well or shaft to suit any exigency of available space in the building in which the elevator is to be erected.

Many changes and variations in the details of construction and arrangement of parts would readily occur to persons skilled in the art and still fall within the spirit and scope of my invention. I do not desire, therefore, to be limited or restricted to the exact details of construction and arrangement shown and described; but,

Having now set forth the object and nature of my invention and a construction embodying the principles thereof and having explained such construction, its purpose, function, and mode of operation, what l claim as new and useful and of my own invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedA States, is-

l. In an electric elevator, acar, a hoistingcable therefor, a motor suspended from said cable and formingv a counterweight for the car, and gearing actuated by said motor for raising and lowering the car, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an electric elevator, acar, a hoistingcable therefor, an electric motor suspended from said hoisting-cable and forming a counterweight for the car, a guideway for said motor, and gearing actuated by said motor` for raising and lowering the car, as and for the purpose set forth- 3. In an electric elevator, a car, a hoisting-` cable therefor, a motor suspended from said cable and forming a counterweight for the car, a guideway in which said motor operates, a rack carried by said guideway, and-a gear actuated by said motor and engaging said rack for raising and lowering the car, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In an electric elevator', a car, a hoistingcable therefor, a frame suspended from saidv cable and forming a counterweight for the car, a motor carried by said frame, a guideway in which said frame operates, and gearing operated by said motor for raising and lowering the car, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In an electric elevator, a car, a hoistingcable therefor, guides in which the car operates, independent guides arranged to form a guideway, a frame arranged between said independent guides and engaged on opposite sides thereof with said guides, said frame connected to said hoisting-cable and forming a counterweight for the car, a rack carried by each independent guide, a shaft arranged in suitable bearings in said frame and disposed transversely thereof, pinions carried at each end of said shaft and respectively arranged to engage said racks, and a motor carried by said frame for rotating said shaft, whereby said counterweight-frarne is caused to travel to raise or lower the car, as and for the purpose set forth.

In an electric elevator, a car, a hoistingcable therefor, guides in which the car operates, independent upright guides arranged to form a guideway, a frame arranged between to be engaged on opposite sides by said independent guides, said frame connected to said hoisting-cable to form a counterweight Vfor said car, racks carried by said independent guides, gearing carried by said frame and arranged to engage said racks, and a motor carried by said counterweight-fra me for driving said gearing, as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In an electric elevator, a car, a hoistingcable therefor, a guideway for the car, guides arranged to form an independent guideway, a frame arranged between to be engaged on opposite sides thereof by said guides, said frame connected to said hoistingcable to form a counterweight for the car, a pair of racks arranged on each guide, the members of each pair of racks arranged on opposite sides of their guide, and presenting in opposite directions,l a pair of shafts suitably journaled in said frame and transversely disposed with reference to and respectively arranged on opposite sides of said guides, a pinion mounted on each end of each shaft, said pinions respectively engaging corresponding racks on said guides, and a motor carried by said frame and arranged to drive said gears, as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In an electric elevator, a car, a hoistingcable therefor, a guideway in which the car operates, aframe connected to said cable, and forming a counterweight for the car, independent guides `between which said frame is arranged to operate, said guides engaging said frame on opposite sides, a rack carried by each guide, a transverse shaft journaled in said frame and carrying a pinion at each end thereof, said pinions respectively engaging said racks, a worm-gear mounted on said shaft intermediate the ends thereof, a motor carried by said frame, a worm carried by the' shaft of said motor, said worm arranged to engage and drive said worm-gear, as and for the purpose set forth.

9. In an electric elevator, a car, a hoistingcable therefor, a guideway in which the car operates, a frame connected to said cable and forming a counterweight for the car, independent guides between which said frame is arranged to operate, said guides engaging said frame on opposite sides thereof, a rack carried by each guide, a shaft carried by said frame and transversely arranged with respect thereto, a pinion mounted on each end of said shaft, said pinions respectively engaging saidracks, a worm -gear mounted on said shaft intermediate theends thereof, a shaft journaled in said frame longitudinally thereof and carrying a worm arranged to engage and drive said worm-gear, and a motor carried by said frame for rotating said shaft, as and for the purpose set forth.

l0. In an electric elevator, a car, ahoistingcable therefor, a guideway in which said car operates, a frame connected to said cable and forming a counterweight for said car, guides spaced a distance apart to form an independent guideway, said frame operating in said guideway and engaged on opposite sides by saidguides, oppositely-presenting racks respectively arranged on opposite sides of each guide, a pair of shafts j ournaled transversely in said frame and arranged to extend respectively on opposite sides of said guides, a pinion mounted on each end of each shaft, said pinions respectively engaging corresponding racks, a Worm-gear mounted upon each transverse shaft intermediate the ends thereof, a

drive-shaft arranged between said shafts and carrying a worm arranged to engage and drive both of said worm-gears, and a motor carried by said frame for rotating said driveshaft, as and for the purpose set forth.

11. In an electric elevator, a car, a hoistingcable therefor, a guideway in which the car operates, a frame connected to said cable and forming a counterbalance for the car, guides arranged a distance apart to form an independent guideway for said frame, said guides engaging said frame on opposite sides, racks carried by said guides, transversely-arranged shafts carried by said frame and arranged to extend on opposite sides, respectively, of said guides, pinions carried by said shafts and ar'- ranged to engage said racks, a Worm-Wheel mounted on each transverse shaft, a driveshaft journaled in said frame and arranged to extend between said transverse shafts, a Worin mounted thereon and arranged to engage at `diametri ,allyopposite points thereof with said Worm-gears, and a motor carried by said frame for rotating said drive-shaft, as and for the purpose set forth.

12. Inan electric elevator, a car, ahoistingoable therefor, a frame connected to said cable and forming a counterweight for the car, guides between which said counterweightframe operates, said guides engaging said frame on opposite sidesl thereof, racks carried bysaid guides, gearing carried by said frame for engagement with said racks, a motor mounted on said frame for actuating said gearing, and an electrically-operated brake arranged in the motor-circuit, whereby When current is supplied to the motor the brake is automatically released, and When the motorcircuit is broken the brake is set, as and for the purpose set forth.

13. In an electric elevator, a car, a hoistingcable therefor, a frame connected to said cable and forming a counterweight for the car, guides spaced a distance apart to form a guideway in which said frame is adapted to operate, said guides engaging said frame on opposite sides thereof, racks carried by said guides, gearing carried by said frame for engagement with said racks, a motor carried by said frame for operating said gear, a solenoid arranged in the motor-circuit, and a brake for said Amotor arranged to be released when said solenoid is energized and to be applied when said solenoid-circuit is broken, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 23d day of July, A. D. 1897.

JOHN WILLIAMS MABBS.

Witnesses:

C. CLARENCE PooLE, WILLIAM L. HALL.

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